James Comey: Trustworthy Public Servant or Partisan Opportunist?

With the release of disgraced former FBI director James Comey’s new book, the media has been quick to formulate a narrative trumpeting his obvious moral superiority to Donald Trump — I mean, in a choice between the two “Who would you believe?” Despite Comey’s sheepish demeanor, however, the evidence might suggest that he’s not quite as innocent as he claims to be in his book. Let’s take a look.

Lying Under Oath

Comey was asked under oath in May 2017 whether he had ever authorized anyone to leak information to the press. Comey’s answer was an emphatic “no.” Yet, his deputy Andrew McCabe (who was fired for leaking classified information) implicated Comey in one of his official statements saying the following: “It [the leak] was not a secret, it took place over several days, and others, including the Director, were aware of the interaction with the reporter.” The “director” he’s referring to was James Comey. As legal scholar Jonathan Turley notes, “that could be viewed as incriminating fired FBI director James Comey, not just in leaking sensitive information but also in lying to Congress.”

FISA Application Contradiction

In a letter to the Justice Department’s Inspector General, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham say information Comey provided members of the Judiciary Committee in a private interview regarding the FISA application to spy on former Trump campaign official Carter Page was contradicted by the applications themselves. “What is the reason for the difference between what Mr. Comey told the Chairman and Ranking Member in March 2017, and what appears in the FISA application?” they ask. “No explanation for the inconsistencies has ever been provided,” they said, adding, “did Director Comey intentionally mislead the Committee?”

Lying about Memos / Classified Information

Comey repeatedly asserted that none of the memos he wrote about his interactions with Trump contained any classified information. That matters because Comey took these memos with him after he got fired by Trump, in violation of FBI rules. Comey then shared some of the memos with a friend, who leaked them to the press. Despite Comey’s claims, however, the Hill reported that four of the seven memos did, in fact, contain classified information.

Lying about Clinton Exoneration

Comey insisted that he hadn’t decided what to do about Hillary Clinton’s private email server scandal until after the FBI interviewed her on July 2, 2016. Comey told Congress that “the decision was made after that (interview), because I didn’t know what was going to happen in that interview. She maybe lied in the interview in a way we could prove.” Long afterComey made that claim, however, draft FBI memos exonerating Clinton — written months before several key figures, including Clinton, had been interviewed — came to light, implying that the FBI was planning to exonerate her all along. Then a text exchange from two top FBI officials indicated that then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch also knew Clinton wouldn’t face charges before she had been interviewed. Finally, there’s the claim Comey made when he issued his statement exonerating Clinton that “no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.” That, too, was not entirely true. As one source reported, “career agents and attorneys on the case unanimously believed the Democratic presidential nominee should have been charged.”

Yet, Comey demonstrates “partisan” subjectivity in how he handled cases and in his willingness to lie in order to achieve (or defend his involvement in) partisan outcomes. These are just a few of the more recent examples of Comey’s very questionable integrity related to his tenure as FBI director. Not to mention that his entire family (wife and daughters) absolutely hate the president and were out marching in the anti-Trump women’s deal the day after his inauguration (which he proudly trumpeted and proclaimed in a news interview). At the very least, there is a conflict of interest going on here that a person with actual integrity would recognize; proceeding promptly to recuse themselves from the position by resigning.

What do you think about James Comey’s integrity? Let us know on Facebookor in the comments below.

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Patrick is the founder and lead editor of the publication. Currently a pastor of many years by trade, Patrick served in the US Army and did his graduate work at both Miami University in Oxford, OH (Social Sciences) and the University of Dayton (Theology) — earning an advanced degree. He enjoys bringing a larger historical and philosophical perspective to his projects. Also, he likes comic books.

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